Bringing Ryan Home
by jonsmom14
Summary: Sequel to "At Any Cost" and "Bringing Seth Home", Ryan comes home from the hospital and the Cohens have a talk. Final part of the trilogy.


"Ok Man, just take it easy

"Ok Man, just take it easy."

"Seth, I didn't hurt my legs I can walk just fine." Ryan grumbled good-naturedly as he followed a backpedaling Seth into the house.

"Dude you've been in a hospital bed for three days. The legs have to be a little wobbly." Seth argued as he shifted from one foot to the other in a nervous state of constant motion.

"If I'm wobbly it's because you're making me dizzy swaying from side to side like that." Ryan grinned.

Seth stopped dead still and stared at his best friend. "Dude, did you make a joke?"

Ryan just smirked.

"Don't do that again Ryan it could cause the apocalypse or something." Seth teased as he shook his head.

"I somehow doubt that." Ryan muttered as he tried to fill his lungs the way the respiratory therapist had taught him the day before. He still felt like something was sitting on his chest, but at least he could breathe.

Sandy and Kirsten were following their sons, both biting their lip to keep from laughing out loud. It was so good to have them home again.

Seth and Ryan walked into the house and stopped dead in their tracks.

"Jesus and Moses! Was there an earthquake?" Seth exclaimed as he stared around at the demolition. "And what's with the Chippendale's models walking around?" He turned to give Kirsten an evil eye. "Is there something that you need to share with us my dear Mother?" Then his expression turned to one of horror, "Or Father?"

"When you guys were gone we decided to do some remodeling." Kirsten tried to explain.

Ryan just stared in awe around the room at all of the hanging plastic and the shirtless men walking through various parts of the house. For all their busyness, it didn't look like anyone was actually doing anything.

"And so you hired the chorus line from the Broadway production of 'It's Raining Men'?" Seth stared at her incredulously.

"Seth, There is no Broadway production called 'It's Raining Men'." Kirsten informed him.

Seth glared. "So not the point."

"Just please tell me the pool house is in one piece." Ryan declared tiredly.

"Yes it is. You know the offer of the other bedroom upstairs is still open." Sandy assured him.

"The pool house is home to me. I've missed it." Ryan admitted, turning down the offer. "Besides, I'd rather stay on the ground."

Kirsten smiled and nodded. "The pool house it is, but I'll be out to check on you regularly." She warned.

Ryan shot her a tired grin. "All I want right now is some sleep." He couldn't believe how exhausted he was from just walking into the house.

Kirsten put her hand at his back and gently guided him outside. She watched as Ryan slipped off his shoes. She had brought him a t-shirt and sweat pants to wear home so that he could go straight to bed. The doctor had warned them that Ryan would tire easily for the next few days as his body recovered from the trauma of respiratory failure.

As Ryan settled back on the bed, Kirsten pulled the covers up over him and straightened them out. She leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"Sleep well Sweetie." Kirsten said softly before turning and quietly leaving the room.

Ryan laid in the bed blinking sleepily as he glanced around his room. That's what it was, Ryan realized – his room. For the first time that he could remember, Ryan felt like he had a home. With a satisfied smile, Ryan closed his eyes and slipped off into dreamland.

Kirsten stood at the French doors leading out to the patio and stared at the pool house. Although she couldn't actually see him, it filled the emptiness in her heart to know that Ryan was sleeping only a few feet away. Kirsten would be the first to admit that even if Seth had stayed home, Ryan's absence left a gaping hole in their lives. She had become accustomed to seeing the amused glances he would shoot at Seth's ramblings, and the slight vulnerability Ryan radiated when she would manage to wake him from a nap.

Sometime in the past year, Ryan had become an integral member of their family. Kirsten didn't even want to think about what life was like before the previous summer. It was hard to remember how cold she had been to her foster son. She winced at the memory of Ryan's nervousness as he had finished making breakfast that first morning. It was as if he expected to be yelled at, or worse – beaten. Knowing what she did, Kirsten wouldn't be surprised if that was exactly what Ryan had been thinking.

Arms coming around her from behind startled Kirsten out of her musings.

"Are you okay?" Sandy asked softly, his warm breath brushing delicately against her ear.

Kirsten leaned back into her husband's chest and sighed. "He's home."

"Yeah, it's good to have Seth back." Sandy agreed.

"No," Kirsten tilted her head towards the pool house. "I'm talking about Ryan."

Confused, Sandy shifted slightly. "I thought you were upset about Seth being gone."

Kirsten sighed heavily. "Oh I was very upset, but I also knew that he would eventually come back – even if it was with a police escort." Kirsten pursed her lips as she fought her sudden attack of emotions. "I wasn't so sure about Ryan. I thought we had lost him for good. I've come to think of him as my own and I was scared to death that I would never see him again. Then you called and said that Ryan was in the hospital. As horrible as what Theresa did was, I'm almost grateful. It brought Ryan back home and gave us a second chance."

Kirsten turned around in Sandy's arms and stared up into his blue eyes. "We will not lose him again, Sandy. I couldn't take that. I don't care if we have to lock him up in the pool house, Ryan will not be leaving again."

Sandy smiled down at his determined wife. "I wouldn't dare argue with you, Honey. I doubt Ryan would either. Are you going to tell him that he's now a permanent resident?"

"I think that after he wakes up, we are all due for a family meeting. There are some laws that need to be laid down." Kirsten declared with a steely glint in her eye.

Sandy looked down at her hungrily. "Until then, why don't you and I spend some time in bed ourselves?"

Kirsten smiled sexily and her voice took on a husky lilt. "But I'm not really sleepy. Besides it's just passed lunch time. It's too early to go to bed."

"Who said anything about sleeping?" Sandy growled.

Kirsten laughed and started towards the bedroom. "Coming?"

"I'm right behind you." Sandy declared following closely after her.

Ryan woke up and stretched. From the glow behind the shades, he guessed it was early morning. He rolled over to look at his clock and realized it was 8:00 am. He had slept a good eighteen hours! Rubbing his face, he stumbled into the bathroom for a shower. Despite the amount of sleep he had received – or because of it – Ryan felt very groggy.

After starting the water, Ryan stripped and stepped under the hot stream. He quickly realized that the steam was making it more difficult to breathe, and adjusted the temperature accordingly. Ryan stood under the pounding water and sighed. He had missed his shower. Eva's shower always lacked good pressure. It was like standing in a gentle rain. Ryan still couldn't figure out how Theresa ever got the shampoo out of her thick hair.

The thought of Theresa made Ryan wince. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that she had drugged him. When had she changed from the feisty, compassionate girl he had grown up with?

Shaking his head to derail that train of thought, Ryan sighed and quickly washed off before turning off the water and stepping out of the shower. He pulled on the jeans and wife beater that he had brought into the bathroom and ran a comb through his damp hair before walking out to the main room. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Kirsten standing next to his bed holding two mugs.

Kirsten winced. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Ryan smiled softly and shook his head. "It's okay." He assured her as he crossed the room and took the offered cup. He closed his eyes and sighed with pleasure at the first sip of gourmet coffee he had taken in three months.

Kirsten hid a grin as she took a sip from her own mug. It was well known in the Cohen household how much Ryan loved his coffee. She correctly guessed that he had missed the expensive Hawaiian blend that was a staple in their kitchen.

"I thought you might need that when I realized you were awake." Kirsten declared softly.

Ryan shot her a curious glance after he looked around and noticed the shades were still down.

"You're wondering how I knew you were awake?" Kirsten correctly interpreted.

Ryan nodded after taking another sip of his coffee.

Kirsten shrugged nonchalantly. "I've been checking on you to make sure you were okay." She confessed.

Ryan winced slightly. "You didn't have to do that."

Kirsten studied him silently for a moment. "Did you think that I wouldn't be concerned when you just got home from the hospital?"

Ryan avoided her gaze. "No, I know that you're worried. I'm just sorry that I've caused you so much trouble."

Kirsten felt her heart break a little at the obvious defeated tone. "Actually I'm glad you're awake. Sandy is getting Seth, and we're meeting on the patio for a family discussion." She declared, making a mental note to discuss self-esteem issues as well.

Ryan sighed and nodded. He tried not to think too hard about what was to come as he followed his foster mother out the door.

Sandy and Seth were sitting at the patio table with the basket of bagels when Ryan and Kirsten joined them. Sandy waited until the other two members of the family had prepared their breakfast before opening the discussion.

"I just want to start by saying how much we have missed both you boys and how difficult this summer has been without you."

Both teens winced as they stared down at their plates.

"First of all, Seth, you are grounded for the next month." Sandy held up a hand to stop Seth's protest. "You left a note and sailed away. You did not have permission to leave, and you definitely didn't have our permission to stay in Portland. Your mother and I understand your reasons, but you have to understand that you were wrong to just run away without talking to us or giving us a chance to help you." Sandy explained.

Seth sighed heavily, and remaining uncharacteristically silent, nodded.

Sandy's eyes turned to Ryan and he saw the blond boy brace himself. "As for you, we won't ground you since you had permission to go. However, we need to have a long talk about your place in this family."

The blood drained out of Ryan's face and he swayed slightly in his chair. Had he misunderstood Kirsten earlier? He had thought she cared about him. Maybe it had been her way of saying good-bye.

Seeing the teen's extreme reaction, Sandy hurried to correct his misunderstanding.

"No! Ryan, I don't mean we want you to go!" Sandy declared, moving to the shaking teen's side and kneeling on the concrete next to his chair. He placed a hand on Ryan's leg to steady them both.

"Ryan when you left you took an important part of our family with you. Even if Seth hadn't gone, we still would have had a miserable summer because we missed you!" Sandy exclaimed. "We let you go to Chino with Theresa and that was a huge mistake – not just because of what Theresa did, but because of what your absence meant to us. You are a part of this family now, and you belong here. We should have offered to help Theresa, but our mistake came when we let you go. It is an error that will never be repeated."

Ryan glanced at his foster parents shyly.

"Sweetie," Kirsten began as she leaned forward and grabbed his hand. "I know that we didn't have the best start…" She saw him wince at the memory of that morning in the kitchen. "But that has all changed now. Ryan, you are not just a temporary guest that we are hosting. You are Sandy and my youngest son and Seth's brother. You are our family – I don't care what your last name is. Don't ever think that leaving is an option again."

Sandy chuckled. "Yeah, she even threatened to lock you in the pool house if that's what it took to keep you here from now on."

Ryan smiled sheepishly.

"I think whoever Ryan marries might have a problem with that." Seth pointed out with a grin.

"All joking aside, we want you to know that you may have been allowed to go before, but no one leaves this family a second time." Sandy declared. "You're a Cohen now and you're stuck with us."

Ryan glanced at all of them shyly. "I think I can live with that." He stated softly.

"Good, now on to business. I've spoken with Dr. Kim and both you boys start school Monday morning. Ryan, she is aware of your health problems and if you start feeling too winded or tired, just go to the school nurse and she will call one of us to get you." Kirsten looked at her youngest sternly. "I expect you to be honest. If you feel bad, don't try to last the day because you feel that you're inconveniencing us. It's a lot easier to pick you up and take you home than to be sitting in a hospital room all day because you overdid it. Do you understand me?"

"Yes Ma'am." Ryan agreed.

Kirsten glanced over at Seth. "As for you, watch out for your brother. Don't let him overdo."

Seth gave her a sloppy salute. "Aye, aye Captain!"

"Why don't we all go watch a movie?" Sandy suggested. "I think we need some family time."

"You're just saying that because it's your turn to pick." Seth grumbled as he stood and started towards the house. "By the way, do you even know where the TV is in this mess?"

While Sandy and Seth went to set up a viewing area, Kirsten and Ryan shared a smile as they gathered up the plates and leftover breakfast items. It was quick work to put them away and join the other two Cohen's on the couch. As the movie started, Ryan felt Kirsten's arm go around his shoulders. Yes, after all this time, Ryan Atwood had found a home.


End file.
